KVR Audio

pekbro · Post by **pekbro** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 1:44 pm

There are 2 on Maui, 1 right across the street from me. Funny, we are
short on everything but RadioShacks (comparatively speaking).

Jace-BeOS · Post by **Jace-BeOS** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 2:13 pm

Tandy 1000 TL/2 and Tandy 2500 XL/2 were my family's first computers. They weren't nearly as good as an Amiga, but they were better PCs than anyone else's PC at the time (3-voice beeper with noise and 16-colors gave superior gaming until Adlib and VGA came along).

Yes, they did slit their own throats. Among other things, their employees developed the reputation of not knowing anything about technology (a few years after the guy we bought our first Tandy from no longer worked there).

I remember an employee directing me to a plain serial cable when I came looking for a null modem cable (he nearly argued with me that a plain serial cable was exactly what I was looking for, and that I didn't need the little null modem dongle). I had to make a second trip for the null modem dongle, stalking angrily past the guy to the computer parts shelf, ignoring him. Tried to get a job there for that reason (it boosted my self-confidence to see that clearly I knew computers better than some adult employee at an electronics store), but they didn't hire people under 18. Their loss.

annode · Post by **annode** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 2:46 pm

Lucky for me I bought a shitload of adapters and 'stuff' from them over the years and still have them. I used to work as a 'field' service tech servicing communications equipment of different sorts. I couldn't carry the contents of a whole Radio Shack in my van, so I was happy they were there when I needed something.

RIP

I think it was Hink who mentioned Lafayette above...we had one of those, a Radio Shack and a Heath Kit within the vicinity of our shopping mall.
I still have my Heath Kit 'tube sine/square generator'.
I remember seeing the first Heath Kit kit for building a mid/side-band stereo decoder for TV when they first started broadcasting stereo....before it was available from your set, and well before 'cable' got here.

What really killed the 'Shack' imo was the advent of expanded use of multi-purposed IC packages in the electronics field. When circuit boards became disposable, not serviceable. TV became less and less cost effectively serviceable(CRT).
When I was a mere lad, audio was the thing and RS was there for me.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:01 pm

My first multimeter was an Archer, thus from Tandy. The TRS-80 Model I at school, sweet memories...

And that's my first mixer, circa 1985. Pretty sure I bought it dirt cheap at a Dutch Tandy store (which stocked Radio Shack, Archer, Realistic and a bunch of other brands no other store sold)

It's now gutted out and the rca connector strip replaced with a D15. Now find that soundcard with joystick port, install Joy2Midi, cross fingers it works, and I have my hacked fader controller back in working order.

Thanks Radio Shack / Tandy for all the joy you gave me. RIP.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:09 pm

They also made decent computers during the first half of the 80's

deastman · Post by **deastman** » Fri Apr 14, 2017 7:56 pm

I didn't remember that Trash-80s were so cheap! I was mostly Apple ][ and then Mac, and for a while it seemed like a fully equipped new computer system was always about $3K. But there were a lot more players back then... Timex, Commodore, Atari, all the PC companies and Apple rip offs...

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 10:14 am

annode wrote:Lucky for me I bought a shitload of adapters and 'stuff' from them over the years and still have them. I used to work as a 'field' service tech servicing communications equipment of different sorts. I couldn't carry the contents of a whole Radio Shack in my van, so I was happy they were there when I needed something. RIP

I think it was Hink who mentioned Lafayette above...we had one of those, a Radio Shack and a Heath Kit within the vicinity of our shopping mall.
I still have my Heath Kit 'tube sine/square generator'.
I remember seeing the first Heath Kit kit for building a mid/side-band stereo decoder for TV when they first started broadcasting stereo....before it was available from your set, and well before 'cable' got here.

What really killed the 'Shack' imo was the advent of expanded use of multi-purposed IC packages in the electronics field. When circuit boards became disposable, not serviceable. TV became less and less cost effectively serviceable(CRT).
When I was a mere lad, audio was the thing and RS was there for me.

Heathkit rocked, we had a store in Mass across from the North Shore Mall

Hink · Post by **Hink** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 10:17 am

BertKoor wrote:My first multimeter was an Archer, thus from Tandy. The TRS-80 Model I at school, sweet memories...

And that's my first mixer, circa 1985. Pretty sure I bought it dirt cheap at a Dutch Tandy store (which stocked Radio Shack, Archer, Realistic and a bunch of other brands no other store sold)

It's now gutted out and the rca connector strip replaced with a D15. Now find that soundcard with joystick port, install Joy2Midi, cross fingers it works, and I have my hacked fader controller back in working order.

Thanks Radio Shack / Tandy for all the joy you gave me. RIP.

my first multi-meter was from RS too but it was a kit (same as the one they sold though). That was one nice thing back in the day from RS, P-box kits

Musicisbest · Post by **Musicisbest** » Sat Apr 15, 2017 10:31 am

Still available here but more expensive then before....

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Sat Apr 22, 2017 7:37 pm

Radio Shack also was involved in making Hit Stix

Play 'em in the air, play 'em anywhere

annode · Post by **annode** » Sat Apr 22, 2017 9:37 pm

Wow, that's REALLY stupid. Takes all the fun out of hitting stuff.
Song hinting on 'Hit Me' (With Your Rhythm Stick), but I guess you knew that.

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Sun Apr 23, 2017 8:46 pm

Radio Shack was always the store for the clueless to me. Sure I had a TRS-80. It was a great place for a budget PA that sounded like crap and would last ...About 2 gigs. Lousy quality TV's and Radios. I hated being interrogated every time I wanted to buy something. Come in for RCA cables and then have to give them your name address and phone number. But they were the last best hope for cable connectors, replacement tubes and other things.

I filled out an application and did a screening interview. When they told me I'd have to pass a lie detector and have background check to work retail for minimum wage that was enough.

I too had many experiences with incompetent staff telling me I needed something I didn't and what I thought I needed wouldn't work.

Yeah I had one of these things too.

After a very short time of playing with it I realized that I wasn't going to be an electronics engineer or a synth player.

Numanoid · Post by **Numanoid** » Sun Apr 23, 2017 8:54 pm

tapper mike wrote:Radio Shack was always the store for the clueless to me. Sure I had a TRS-80. It was a great place for a budget PA that sounded like crap and would last ...About 2 gigs. Lousy quality TV's and Radios.

The local variant of RadioShack in Scandinavia is Clas Ohlson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clas_Ohlson

Still going strong, but a lot of their stuff is overpriced plastic, with their logo plastered on.

pekbro · Post by **pekbro** » Sun Apr 23, 2017 9:02 pm

Damn, just heard the one across the street from me is closing.
Weak.....

*50% off sale, got to go buy all their coil TRS cables. I love those
with a guitar...

Jace-BeOS · Post by **Jace-BeOS** » Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:57 am

Where am i going to run out to for cables and adapters now...??

Bye bye Radio Shack